Bradford Salem are hoping that last week’s 46-18 setback at Heath is a one-off.

The defeat, which was lop-sided because three interception tries yielded the Halifax hosts 21 points, dropped Salem back to second in Yorkshire Division One.

Salem’s fixture secretary Neil Klenk said: “Their captain said afterwards that they had had the bounce of the ball but even without those gifts they would have won 25-18.

“Our result and York’s 40-0 defeat of Castleford can be seen as freaks but, as usual in this division, it is possible for a team at the bottom to beat a team at the top, especially if the mindset is not right.

“However, having said that, I am sure that Heath will be in the mix at the end of the season. I just hope our result was a one-off.”

Salem hope to welcome back Richard Langhorn (calf) on the wing, Craig Buxton (neck) at prop and Damien Pearson (ankle) to the second row at home to rock-bottom Selby on Saturday.

Bradford Salem (home to Selby): J Davies; C Savva, S McManus, M Booth, R Langhorn; J Robinson, D Howcroft; C Buxton, S Fields, J Bradbury, J Morrell, D Pearson, J Booth, K Falwasser, R Bourne. Replacements (from): D Luxton, B Webb, P Collins, D Hutton.